{"id":9023,"date":"2025-08-15T01:38:39","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T05:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/2025\/08\/15\/brands-agencies-we-need-to-start-embracing-uncomfortable-conversations\/"},"modified":"2025-08-13T17:56:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T21:56:42","slug":"brands-agencies-we-need-to-start-embracing-uncomfortable-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/brands-agencies-we-need-to-start-embracing-uncomfortable-conversations\/9023\/","title":{"rendered":"Brands, Agencies \u2013 We Need to Start Embracing Uncomfortable Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>By Kirsty Hathaway, Executive Creative Director at JOAN London<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vulva.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One anatomically correct word. One very important part of the human body, fine-tuned over millions of years of evolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have one. Half the world\u2019s population has one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And yet, despite being a self-assured, assertive woman (and mum to a daughter), it\u2019s a word I used to feel weirdly uncomfortable saying out loud. It felt too intimate. Too loaded. Taboo. And it wasn\u2019t until we started working with intimate care brand Luna Daily that I even realised I felt that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sounds silly, right? But it points to a much bigger problem. In 2025, 80% of women still can\u2019t correctly identify a vulva on a diagram. That is a <em>mind-blowing <\/em>stat, and it\u2019s frankly dangerous that we know so little about ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s only one way to start fixing a problem like that: you\u2019ve got to confront the awkwardness. Have the hard conversations. Push past your own boundaries, and help others do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that means brands and agencies need to get a little more comfortable with being uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Uncomfortable truths make great creative<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before I worked in agencies, I was a magazine editor (back when people actually read them). And when you\u2019re trained editorially, one thing matters: the audience. What\u2019s going to make them stop and pay attention? Why should they care?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I carry that same thinking into advertising. Everything we do has to make people feel something, because that\u2019s how you earn their interest. And sometimes, that \u2018something\u2019 is discomfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Discomfort makes us stop and reflect. It challenges, provokes, even annoys. But when it\u2019s done with intention, it can shift perspectives. Change behaviour. Drive culture forward. Because the more we talk about uncomfortable things, the less uncomfortable they become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s exactly what we set out to do with Luna Daily and our \u2018Vulva Therapy\u2019 campaign. Luna Daily exists to normalise conversations around female bodies, and the word \u2018vulva\u2019 is central to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we made it impossible to ignore. We stuck it everywhere \u2013 VULVA, in bold, unapologetic type \u2013 across billboards, digital platforms, guerrilla takeovers. Every ad featured a phone number for a bespoke therapy hotline, created for anyone feeling triggered by the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That campaign proved that doing something scary can really pay off. On launch day, Google searches for \u2018vulva\u2019 spiked by 35%. A Luna Daily blog post explaining the difference between vulva and vagina got over 700,000 views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it only worked because it was grounded in truth. We weren\u2019t using shock for the sake of it. We weren\u2019t pointing fingers or trying to shame people for feeling weird about it. We simply invited them to examine their own discomfort \u2013 and we did it with empathy, honesty, and a little bit of humour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s the sweet spot. That\u2019s when people open up, reflect, and start to see things differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You see it in other great work too: Patagonia\u2019s \u2018Don\u2019t Buy This Jacket\u2019. Dulcolax\u2019s \u2018#PooTaboo\u2019. Proper, purposeful, provocative ideas that made people sit up and take note. And most importantly, both campaigns were transformative for their brands. The Patagonia work is over a decade old, and people still talk about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are still loads of topics we tiptoe around: salaries, menopause, mental health, infertility, loneliness, sex. All things people care deeply about \u2013 and all fertile ground for brands willing to be brave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Brave ideas need brave environments<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Campaigns like Vulva Therapy don\u2019t just happen. You need a client who\u2019s up for it \u2013 but just as importantly, an agency environment that makes brave work possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because let\u2019s be honest \u2013 we all feel that fear. The fear of being rejected by the client. Of getting it wrong. Of public backlash. So how do we push forward anyway?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with the insight. If your thinking is grounded in truth, no one can argue with it. Discomfort without meaning is just noise \u2013 but discomfort rooted in human truth? That\u2019s powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it\u2019s not just about the work. It\u2019s about how we work. We\u2019ve got to build cultures that encourage risk, vulnerability, challenge. Where people feel safe to speak up, to throw out the mad idea, to be honest. Psychological safety isn\u2019t a buzzword \u2013 it\u2019s a creative essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Same goes for diversity of thought. It\u2019s not a box-tick. It\u2019s the thing that helps you avoid blind spots. That makes the work sharper. When we worked with Cybersmile on a campaign about cancel culture, we were nervous. The topic was a minefield, and we really didn\u2019t want to get cancelled ourselves. But we came at it with honesty, humility, and a team of people with very different perspectives. And that\u2019s what gave us the confidence to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Feel the fear. Do it anyway.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, smaller brands often have more freedom. Less red tape. More reason to take risks. But that doesn\u2019t mean big brands can\u2019t do it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fear is the enemy of progress. Fear of backlash, of saying the wrong thing, of sticking your neck out. But the brands that take calculated risks \u2013 the ones that dare to be different \u2013 are the ones that stand out, cut through, and drive real change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because at the end of the day, no risk means no reward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, I\u2019ll say it again \u2013 vulva. One uncomfortable word that, when used with care and courage, can help change the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if you\u2019re willing to sit with your own discomfort for a moment, you might just find a way to do the same.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2025, 80% of women still can\u2019t correctly identify a vulva on a diagram. That is a mind-blowing stat, and it\u2019s frankly dangerous that we know so little about ourselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9024,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3],"topics":[2],"class_list":["post-9023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-brands-marketers","topics-editorial"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Brands, Agencies \u2013 We Need to Start Embracing Uncomfortable Conversations | AW360<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/advertisingweek.com\/aw360\/news\/brands-agencies-we-need-to-start-embracing-uncomfortable-conversations\/9023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brands, Agencies \u2013 We Need to Start Embracing Uncomfortable Conversations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2025, 80% of women still can\u2019t correctly identify a vulva on a diagram. 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